Sony Mobile Communications has launched the Xperia Ear in South Africa. The in-ear personal assistant helps users to communicate via conversational voice interaction and head gestures.
The Bluetooth-connected Ear, which was launched in the Middle East and Europe earlier this month, will be available exclusively online at launch, though physical retailers will be added later. Sony announced the Xperia Ear at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain in March 2016.
“We are trying to change people’s behaviour when it comes to how we interact with our phones,” said South Africa country manager Christian Haghofer. The device works with all phones running Android 4.4 or later.
The wireless earbud, which has noise compression to block out outside sounds, can provide weather updates, read e-mails and text messages or navigate to a destination. It responds to verbal commands, so can be used to place a call, search the Internet or dictate a message, he said.
The earpiece has an accelerometer, a gyroscope, NFC transmitter and proximity sensor. It is also water resistant, so should survive if you get caught in the rain.
Haghofer said the product is targeting a tech-savvy audience. It is available at launch only through Takealot for R2 499. Though the Ear is available in up to four colours internationally, only the black version has been ranged in South Africa.
Engadget described it an “intriguing” device “in theory”.
“Because you have to press a button to talk to the Ear, there’s no real difference between this device and, say, using Siri or the Google Assistant over wired earbuds,” the website said in a review. “The Xperia Ear also gets uncomfortable with extended use, and is expensive for what it does.” — (c) 2017 NewsCentral Media